Lodz promotes healthy eating for elderly
through setting up vegetable gardens
Garden work Living Lab Lodz

Image source: Kaja Zapędowska-Kling, University of Łódź 

In Lodz, seniors now have access to a newly set up vegetable garden where they can taste as well as grow their own vegetables. This embarks a great success in the journey of Living Lab Lodz. Elderly people have very specific dietary and nutritional needs and their eating habits impact the quality of their ageing processes. Consuming freshly grown vegetables and at the same time enjoying movement and contact with the nature shows promising effects on the seniors’ health. 
With the objective to foster healthy diets in Senior Day Care Centres in the Polish city of Lodz, the Living Lab is investigating on eating habits of senior residents, examining the quality of meals provided on site and improving the community's eating culture. In the long run Lodz will upscale the results of the research process to other Day Care Centres.
 

“Thanks to the FEAST project we revolutionize seniors’ approach to healthy eating. Setting up a vegetable garden was preceded by a series of workshops on the role of a rich, nutritious and diversified diet on healthy ageing. The residents and staff of the Senior-WIGOR Day Care Centre in Tuszyn are fully dedicated, enthusiastic and engaged in cultivating the garden. Last week they tried their own zucchini, tomatoes, chives, mint and beetroots. ICLEI’s role is fundamental in popularising the concept of a sustainable diet, which is still not widely recognised in Poland, especially among vulnerable social groups.” 

 

Author
Kaja Zapędowska-Kling, Johanna Vormdefelde
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